Duke rape suspect
to appear in court for bashing incident

One of two Duke University lacrosse players charged with raping a stripper last month could face further legal trouble in an unrelated assault case in Washington, D.C. Collin Finnerty is due in D.C. superior court Tuesday for a hearing to determine whether he violated the conditions of a diversion program he entered after being charged in an apparently antigay assault in November. Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., was arrested on November 5 after he and two high school lacrosse teammates were involved in a confrontation in Georgetown, according to court records. Finnerty and the other young men were accused of punching Jeffrey O. Bloxgom in the face and body after he told them to "stop calling him gay and other derogatory names," according to the court documents. Bloxgom told police that when he tried to walk away, Finnerty's group attacked him without provocation, injuring his lip and chin. Under the terms of the diversion program, the charges would be dismissed after Finnerty completed 25 hours of community service. The agreement also called for Finnerty to refrain from committing any criminal offense. "We're considering revocation of the diversion," said Channing Phillips, a spokesman for D.C.'s U.S. Attorney's Office. If the diversion is revoked and Finnerty is convicted of simple assault, he could face up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Calls to Steven J. McCool, who is representing Finnerty in the Georgetown case, and Bill Cotter, his Durham, N.C., attorney, were not returned Monday. Finnerty and Duke teammate Reade Seligmann were indicted last week on charges of attacking a woman who was performing at an off-campus party held by the lacrosse team on March 13. Authorities believe they were two of the three white men who the 27-year-old black woman says raped her in a bathroom. Seligmann's attorney on Monday demanded that prosecutors turn over the accuser's medical, legal, and education records for use in attacking her credibility. He also asked a judge to hold a pretrial hearing to "determine if the complaining witness is even credible enough to provide reliable testimony." (AP)